I. Field
The present invention relates generally to communication, and more specifically to channel estimation for a wireless communication system that simultaneously transmits multiple data streams.
II. Background
A wireless communication system may provide voice, packet data, broadcast and/or other services. Broadcast service typically entails transmitting broadcast data to all users in a designated broadcast area instead of to specific users. Since a broadcast transmission is intended to be received by multiple users within the broadcast area, the broadcast data rate is normally determined by the user with the worst channel conditions. Typically, the worst-case user is located far away from a transmitting base station and has a low signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR).
The users in the broadcast area typically experience different channel conditions, achieve different SINRs, and are capable of receiving data at different data rates. Hierarchical transmission may be used to improve broadcast service. With hierarchical transmission, the broadcast data is divided into a “base stream” and an “enhancement stream”. The base stream is transmitted in a manner such that all users in the broadcast area can recover this stream. The enhancement stream is transmitted in a manner such that users experiencing better channel conditions can recover this stream. Hierarchical transmission is also referred to as hierarchical coding, where the term “coding” in this context refers to channel coding rather than data coding at the transmitter.
In one method of implementing hierarchical coding, the base station processes (e.g., codes, interleaves, and modulates) the base stream and enhancement stream separately to obtain two data symbol streams. The base station then scales and combines (e.g., adds) the two data symbol streams and transmits the combined symbol stream. A receiver with a high SINR first detects and recovers the base stream by treating the enhancement stream as noise. The receiver then estimates and cancels the interference due to the base stream and thereafter recovers the enhancement stream with the interference from the base stream canceled. The receiver also estimates the response of the wireless channel and uses the channel estimate for three processing steps—to detect for the base stream, to estimate the interference due to the base stream, and to detect for the enhancement stream. The quality of the channel estimate directly impacts system performance. Thus, techniques that can provide a high quality channel estimate are highly desirable.